CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- Amtrak is planning some upgrades.
The rail service is replacing its fleet of train cars used on 14 overnight routes, most of which travel through Chicago's Union Station.
An amtrak officisal said the purchase, which could be valued in the billions of dollars, would upgrade cars that in some cases have been in use for 40 years.
The new rail cars would run on routes like the California Zephyr between Chicago and San Francisco and the Cardinal between New York and Chicago. The plan does not include local routes, like those running between Chicago and Milwaukee or downstate to Carbondale or Quincy.
“In a way it sort of is the capstone... to our effort to modernize passenger rail,” Amtrak board Chair Anthony Coscia told the Chicago Tribune.
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